Home Office

Electric Scooters

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government how many(1) fires, and (2) deaths, were caused by e-bikes and e-scooters in each of the past five years for which figures are available.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs), with this data including the cause of the fire and the source of ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications on Gov.UK. Data collected through the Incident Recording System (IRS) does not include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by or involved e-bikes or e-scooters. Therefore, the IRS also does not collect data on fatalities where the cause was an e-bike or e-scooter. We are reviewing the IRS, and the data it collects, and considering what categories to record in the future. Adding new categories, including lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, e-scooters and e-bikes, to the data collection will be considered as part of the work to reform the IRS with a modern, secure, and flexible system.

Visas: Graduates

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 19 September (HL9920), what plans they have to evaluate the success of the High Potential Individual (HPI) entry visa route to the UK; and what criteria and data they plan to use in assessing the extent to which the HPI route has met its stated objective of supporting the UK’s growth as a leading international hub for innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: We keep all visa routes, including the High Potential Individual route, under review and will update Parliament in the normal manner.

UK Trade with EU

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what level ofphysical checks are currently placed on goods travelling directly from Great Britain to (1) the Republic of Ireland, and (2) other parts of the EU.

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what physical checks are proposedfor goods travelling directly from Great Britain to (1) the Republic of Ireland, and (2) other parts of the EU.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Border Force make use of a wide range of methods and tools to effectively target national security and fiscal risks.Border Force does not publish information relating to the number of physical checks carried out as doing so would publicise operational practices which could be used to assist in the evasion of customs controls and compromise Border security.

Refugees: Biometric Residence Permits

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time for a Biometric Residence Permit to be issued after refugee status has been granted to an individual.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The waiting times for biometric residence permits (BRP) are dictated by the BRP production and delivery processes.The Home Office does not have published, verified data on delivery times.

Cobalt: Democratic Republic of Congo

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government how many companies in the UK subject to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 have disclosed (1) the use of cobalt, and (2) the use of cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in their supply chain in the past five years; and what steps they have taken to pay workers a fair price and to eradicate child labour in supply chains.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires commercial businesses who operate in the UK and have a turnover of £36 million or more to report annually on the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains. This transparency legislation was designed to enable consumers, investors and civil society to scrutinise business action and hold them to account.The prevalence of modern slavery and complexity of global supply chains means that it is highly unlikely that any sector or company is immune from the risks of modern slavery. The Government encourages companies to monitor their supply chains with rigor to uncover and remedy any instances of modern slavery they may find.To further enhance transparency, In March 2021 the UK Government launched an online modern slavery statement registry to bring together modern slavery statements onto a single platform and make the data readily available for the public. Since launch, 12,000 modern slavery statements covering 40,000 organisations have been submitted to the registry on a voluntary basis.It would not be realistic or proportionate for Government to routinely review the content of individual modern slavery statements.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Libya: Floods

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, together with international partners, to assist with (1) international aid, and (2) rescue efforts, in Libya following the flooding in that country on 10 September; and what steps they are taking to help to reduce the threat of disease from contaminated water.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is monitoring the the scale of flooding in eastern Libya following Storm Daniel and is committed to working with partners to deliver aid in support of the Libyan people. The UK is providing support in response to both the floods in Libya and the earthquake in Morocco, having allocated a package worth up to £10 million. Flights carrying UK-funded aid to Libya have so far delivered relief items including emergency shelter for up to 14,400 people, and over 800 portable solar lanterns. The UK is also providing water filters and hygiene kits that can reduce the threat of disease from contaminated water for up to 10,500 people. The UK is also supporting the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund and Education Cannot Wait programme, both of which have contributed to emergency responses in Libya. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, spoke with Chairman of Libya's Presidential Council Mohamed al-Mnefi on 13 September to convey his condolences and the UK's commitment to supporting Libya in the aftermath of this tragedy. Lord Ahmad also spoke to UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, to discuss the international response to the crises in Morocco and Libya along with humanitarian coordination.

Armenia: Azerbaijan

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the current security situation in Nagorno-Karabakh; and what recent discussions they have had, together with international partners, concerning peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The return of conflict to Nagorno-Karabakh on 19 September was devastating for the local population; the subsequent ceasefire announced on 20 September must now be upheld by all parties. The Azerbaijani Government must continue to engage in talks with ethnic Armenian representatives in Nagorno-Karabakh, and ensure that it delivers on its humanitarian commitments. I [Lord Ahmad] raised this at the UN Security Council on 21 September and with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister on 23 September. The Government also continues to urge talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia to find a long term resolution to all outstanding tensions in the interests of all the peoples of the South Caucasus.

West Africa: Politics and Government

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support democratic (1) government, and (2) processes, across West Africa following the recent military coups in Niger and Gabon; and what discussions they have had about this matter with the government of France.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK condemns in the strongest possible terms attempts to undermine democracy, peace and stability in Niger. We stand firmly with the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in calling for the restoration of democracy in Niger.On Gabon, the UK condemns the unconstitutional military takeover and calls for the restoration of civilian rule. We support efforts by the AU and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) to hold Gabon to account and welcome Gabon's partial suspension from the Commonwealth. We will work with the Commonwealth Secretary-General to uphold Commonwealth values and call for a restoration of civilian and democratic rule in Gabon.We regularly discuss these issues with a range of regional and international partners, including France. The Foreign Secretary spoke to the French Foreign Minister about Niger in August. Officials have regular discussions with French counterparts in Paris, London and at post.

Africa: Conflict Prevention

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are promoting UK expertise in conflict prevention and reconciliation in Africa through academic study and training in the UK; and if so, how.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office funds two international scholarship schemes - Chevening and Commonwealth. Chevening offers scholarships to applicants from over 160 Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligible countries and territories to study for Masters degrees in any subject at any British University. Commonwealth scholarships are offered for post-graduate studies in development focussed subjects. Chevening and Commonwealth Scholarships both promote UK expertise by allowing scholars to undertake post-graduate studies in conflict prevention and reconciliation related areas. Through these two schemes, the FCDO currently funds scholarships for 15 Chevening and 14 Commonwealth scholars from African countries studying for post-graduate degrees in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and reconciliation related courses in the UK, with an additional 37 African Commonwealth scholars studying long distance in their home countries through UK universities.

Africa: Universities

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing toAfrican universities and institutions specialising in conflict, in particular in (1) Sudan, (2) South Sudan, (3) Eritrea, and (4) Ethiopia.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Currently we do not provide support to universities in any of the specified countries. Through our recent Strategic Partnership for Higher Education, Innovation and Reform (SPHEIR) programme we have provided support to universities in Somaliland, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Sierra Leone and provided conflict support to universities in Jordan and Lebanon supporting Syrian refugees. This programme ran from 2016-2022 and focussed on transforming the quality, relevance, scale, access and affordability of higher education systems through mutually beneficial partnerships. A successor programme is currently being developed which will be accepting/encouraging bids from Ethiopia and South Sudan.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court: To ask His Majesty's Government what plansthey have to allow the private sector to provide COVID-19 vaccinations.

Lord Markham: Vaccines that have been licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for use in the United Kingdom can be prescribed by a physician, either in the National Health Service or privately.As is the case for other private healthcare, the emergence of a private market for COVID-19 vaccines in the UK is a matter for manufacturers and private healthcare providers to decide and agree on.

Fractures: Health Services

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have conducted any studies into the savings which would accrue to the NHS from investment to enable universal, high-quality Fracture Liaison Services across England; and if no such study has been made, whether they intend to commission one.

Lord Markham: We continue to work closely with stakeholders, including the Royal Osteoporosis Society, to further understand the needs of people living with osteoporosis and consider how health and care services can better support them. Fracture Liaison Services are key to prompt diagnosis of osteoporosis and are acknowledged as the world standard for secondary fracture prevention. According to the Royal Osteoporosis Society, for every £1 spend on Fracture Liaison Services in the United Kingdom, £3.26 is saved by the National Health Service.The National Institute for Health and Care Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including Fracture Liaison Services.

Medical Records: Data Protection

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 19 September (HL10083),whether they intend to direct NHS England to change the name of the Advisory Group for Data to avoid confusion with the National Data Advisory Group.

Lord Markham: Following discussion at the National Data Advisory Group in March, the Department raised with NHS England the possibility of changing the name of the interim Advisory Group for Data. There are no plans to direct NHS England to change the name.

Cardiovascular Diseases: Health Services

Lord Wharton of Yarm: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) guidelines for cardiomyopathies.

Lord Wharton of Yarm: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) improve care, and (2) strengthen clinical guidelines, for (a) individuals who are diagnosed with cardiomyopathy between the ages of 40 and 60, (b) individuals with cardiomyopathyaged 25 or under, and (c) family members of individuals living with cardiomyopathy.

Lord Wharton of Yarm: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to close the gap between the interval between diagnosis and care following a diagnosis of cardiomyopathies and the interval following a diagnosis of other cardiovascular conditions.

Lord Markham: The NHS England Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) national report for cardiology published in August 2021 made the case for delivering cardiac services via managed clinical networks to ensure care is organised around pathways rather than hospitals/sites. Recommendations made in the report are being implemented through GIRFT and NHS England’s Cardiac Transformation Programme. Cardiac networks have been established and the Cardiac Transformation Programme leads have regular reviews with all networks to monitor their progress To improve diagnosis of cardiomyopathy, GIRFT and the Cardiac Transformation Programme have recommended an expansion of diagnostic capacity in echocardiography through the roll out of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs). Steps taken include rolling out up to 160 CDCs which will provide echocardiography services by March 2025. This will improve access to cardiac network pathways for onward referral for patients with suspected cardiomyopathy to an appropriate specialist clinic NHS England is carrying out a comprehensive revision of the service specification for inherited cardiac conditions including cardiomyopathy, with completion expected before the end of 2023/24. Although not age specific, the revised specification will describe the standards of diagnosis, treatment and outcomes expected for patients and families with inherited cardiac conditions from recognised centres.

Coeliac Disease: Diagnosis

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the diagnostic pathway for coeliac disease.

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to improve the (1) information, and (2) resources, on coeliac disease provided to (a) primary healthcare professionals, and (b) the public.

Lord Markham: The Government has made no assessment of the diagnostic pathway for coeliac disease. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including the diagnosis of coeliac disease.To support healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease, and improve the diagnostic pathway nationally, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced guidance on the recognition, assessment and management of coeliac disease [NG20].NICE guidelines represent best practice and health professionals, including general practitioners, and service commissioners are expected to take them fully into account. Guidelines published by NICE are not mandatory and do not replace the judgement of clinicians in determining the most appropriate treatment for individual patients.To assist with increasing the visibility of coeliac disease, NICE promotes guidance via its website, newsletters, and other media. It also publishes information for the public, which explains the care people with coeliac should receive as set out in the NICE guideline.Information for the public on coeliac disease is also published by the National Health Service and is available on the NHS.UK website in an online-only format.

Maternity Services: Finance

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current annual (1) maternity, and (2) neonatal, budget for NHS England; and how much NHS England has expended annually in clinical negligence compensation for maternity care in each of the past five years.

Lord Markham: The annual budget for the NHS England Maternity Programme is £122 million. NHS England does not commission or budget for Maternity Services which is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS Providers, based on the latest available data which is 2021/22 Reference Costs, spent approximately £4 billion annually on Maternity Services. Neonatal services are commissioned and budgeted for through Specialised Commissioning. The latest available data shows an annual spend for 2023/24 of approximately £1 billion.NHS Resolution manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. The following table shows the cost of Clinical Negligence Claims Closed or otherwise Settled as a Periodical Payment Order (PPO) between 2018/19 and 2022/23 with damages paid (including PPOs paid to date), where the Specialty is 'Obstetrics', as advised by NHS Resolution:Year of Closure of case (Settlement Year for PPOs)Damages Paid (£)NHS Legal Costs Paid (£)Claimant Legal Costs Paid (£)Total Paid (£)2018/19605,688,00925,560,73578,394,471709,643,2162019/20495,458,87922,536,70872,295,468590,291,0552020/21501,965,72922,080,96268,796,850592,843,5412021/22503,741,94921,897,29178,114,994603,754,2352022/23596,598,91725,039,07484,939,593706,577,584Total2,703,453,483117,114,772382,541,3763,203,109,631

Health Services: Children

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plans tointroduce legislation which facilitates the improvement of parental rights in respect of seeking a second medical opinion of the treatment of their children or legal equivalent, across all clinical settings.

Lord Markham: The Department is actively considering how this proposal can be developed and implemented in the National Health Service. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Steve Barclay MP) has asked the Patient Safety Commissioner to convene NHS England and others to urgently consider this matter in detail and to make recommendations.

Public Health: Regulation

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce new regulations on public health that cover England if all retained EU regulations on public health are removed from UK law.

Lord Markham: Through the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform ) Bill, the Government is currently reviewing which retained European Union law should be repealed, reformed or preserved. the Government continues to work with a range of stakeholders to ensure that any such reforms maintain or improve current standards in patient safety and public health.

Healthy Start Scheme

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty's Government how many recipients of Healthy Start vouchers are not in receipt of prepaid cards despite remaining eligible for the scheme.

Lord Markham: The NHS Business Services Authority estimates that as of 18 October 2022, there were 2,954 households previously were in receipt of paper vouchers which have not successfully applied to the NHS Healthy Start prepaid card scheme.

Department for Work and Pensions

Disability

Lord Wigley: To ask His Majesty's Government whether theWritten StatementbyViscount Younger of Leckie on18 September (HLWS1021), following the Court of Appeal judgment of 11 July, has any implication for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The National Disability Strategy contains commitments from departments across the UK Government; where these commitments involve Reserved or Partially Reserved matters, there may be implications for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as is usual in policy changes on reserved or partially-reserved matters. Departments leading on such issues are responsible for engaging with devolved administrations as necessary on specific issues where the policy is not fully devolved.

National Insurance

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask His Majesty's Government how many national insurance numbers were issued in each of the past five years; and how many were outstanding at each year end.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The department regularly publishes the number of National Insurance Numbers (NINOs) allocated by DWP to Adult Foreign Nationals on Stat-Xplore, and these are shown in Table 1 for the past five years. The number of outstanding applications at the end of each year are shown in Table 2. These figures do not include those NINOs issued by HMRC to juveniles. Table 1: Annual number of National Insurance Numbers Allocated to Adult Foreign Nationals, April 2018 to March 2023 FYE 2019650,000FYE 2020760,000FYE 2021230,000FYE 2022770,000FYE 20231,110,000 Source: Stat-XploreNote: Data has been rounded to the nearest 10,000. Table 2: Number of outstanding National Insurance Number applications at the end of the last 5 business years FYE 201986,000FYE 202060,000FYE 202155,000FYE 202222,000FYE 202310,000 Source: Internal NINO clerical Capacity Plans and NINO Work Position Overviews.Note: Data has been rounded to the nearest 1,000.

Treasury

Apprentices: Taxation

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to review the Apprenticeship Levy; what assessment they have made ofany imbalance between (1) the amount paid by logistics and transport businesses since its introduction, and (2) the amount they have been entitled to withdraw; and whether they have plans to replace it with a more flexible training levy.

Baroness Penn: While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved, meaning the devolved administrations receive funding through the Barnett formula on English apprenticeship spending. A comparison between UK-wide Levy receipts and apprenticeship spend in England is not available and we are therefore unable to provide an assessment of the difference between the amount paid and available levy funds for the logistics and transport sectors. The Apprenticeship Levy is a key part of the Government’s reforms to the apprenticeship system, which enables employers of all sizes to make a long-term, sustainable and high-quality investment in training. There are no plans to reform the Apprenticeship Levy or replace it with a more flexible training Levy at this time. We are committed to protecting the quality of apprenticeship training and simplifying our system and processes so that employers and providers can focus on delivering high-quality apprenticeships.

Strikes: Economic Growth

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask His Majesty's Government what impact strikes in the (1) public, and (2) private, sector have had on gross domestic product growth in each of the past three years.

Baroness Penn: As the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have noted, it is not possible to precisely isolate the impact of strike action on GDP from other factors across the wider economy.

Department for Transport

Aviation: Energy

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to meet their ambition for aviation energy efficiency to increase by 2 per cent per year; and what assessment they have made of the reasons why the current level of improvements to aviation energy efficiency is below the ambition at 1.4 per cent per year.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: In July 2022, the Government published the Jet Zero Strategy, setting out our approach to achieving net zero aviation by 2050. The Strategy set out an emissions reduction trajectory and committed to the ‘high ambition’ scenario, which included an average annual fuel efficiency improvement of 2% per annum between 2025 and 2050. Whilst the average annual improvement figure is 2%, we expect the pace of progress to vary by year depending on technological development and adoption. The Government is supporting the development of new low and zero-carbon emission aircraft technology through the Aerospace Technology Institute with £685m of funding over three years. The Government published a Call for Evidence for airport operations in England to be zero emission by 2040 in February 2023, and is supporting airspace modernisation by providing £9.2m of funding between 2020-2023. In July 2023 we published the Jet Zero Strategy One Year On document which sets out the progress and achievements since July 2022 and the key challenges ahead in meeting Jet Zero. We have committed to reviewing progress against our emissions reduction trajectory annually from 2025 and to with a full review of the Strategy every 5 years.

Electric Vehicles: Vans

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the level of take-up of electric vans; what assessment they have made of the impact on the targets contained in their paper Consultation on a zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate and CO2 emissions regulation for new cars and vans in the UK, published on 30 March; and whether they have any plans to exclude electric vehicles weighing 3.5–4 tonnes from the requirement to be fitted with a tachograph.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department continuously monitors the uptake of electric vans through national statistics and engagement with industry. As of March 2023, there were almost 50,000 battery electric vans registered in the UK. This number continues to grow and so far this year, 5% of all new van registrations have been battery electric. The Government will be publishing its response to the consultation shortly, which will set out the final policy design of the ZEV mandate. The Department continues to assess the regulatory framework to support the transition to ZEVs, including rules on driving hours and tachographs, without compromising on road and public safety.

Aviation: Carbon Emissions

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current UK capacity to produce sustainable aviation fuel; what will be the capacity required to meet their Jet Zero Strategy targets; and whether they are on track to achieve the Jet Zero Strategy targets.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Jet Zero Strategy sets a clear goal of net zero aviation emissions by 2050 but recognises that there are multiple pathways to achieving that goal. In the “Jet Zero illustrative scenarios and sensitivities” document published alongside the Jet Zero Strategy four different scenarios assume different levels of sustainable aviation fuel uptake by 2050. To track progress against targets, the Government has set a CO2 emissions reduction trajectory based on the “high ambition” scenario that sees UK aviation emissions peak in 2019. Provisional estimates for 2022 UK international aviation greenhouse gas emissions show that they are 29% below 2019 levels. Progress will be monitored against the emissions reduction trajectory on an annual basis from 2025 and the overall strategic approach reviewed every five years. The Government is introducing an ambitious set of policies to support the growth of the UK Sustainble Aviation Fuel sector and meet Jet Zero targets. Emissions savings are being secured through a mandate, which will be introduced from 2025 and will require at least 10% of UK aviation fuel to be derived from sustainable sources by 2030. In the 2023 consultation, the trajectories for sustainable aviation fuel uptake from 2025 to 2040 demonstrated how these trajectories align with the 2050 scenarios and ambition set out in the Jet Zero Strategy.  The Government is also kick starting a domestic sustainable aviation fuel industry through £165 million funding from the Advanced Fuels Fund to support first of a kind plants to reach commercial scale. The UK does not currently have any large scale dedicated production facilities, but this funding will help to deliver the commitment to have at least five commercial SAF plants under construction in the UK by 2025. The Government has also recently committed to design and implement a revenue certainty mechanism to further support the development of a UK industry. The government has published a delivery plan, outlining how such a scheme can be delivered by 2026.

Transport

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government whetherthey plan to develop a National Transport Strategy.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department has articulated its long-term strategic approach to the UK’s transport network through a range of publications, covering both specific modes of transport and cross-cutting policy issues such as freight.

Shipping: Isles of Scilly

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 20 September (HL9964),whether they intend to place in the Library of the House a copy of the full business case submitted by the Council of the Isles of Scilly in connection with that Council’s bid for levelling up funding for new vessels.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government will not be in a position to place a copy of the Full Business Case submitted by the Council of the Isles of Scilly concerning funding for new vessels in the Library of the House. The Full Business Case is submitted to the department in confidence, and since it contains sensitive commercial information, it cannot be placed in the library.

NATS: Vacancies

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 19 September (HL Deb col 1332),why there are NATS staff shortages at Edinburgh, Manchester and Bristol airports; and whether those shortages are similar to those at Gatwick cited by the Minister in her answer.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: UK aviation operates in the private sector, and Air Traffic Control tower services are a commercial matter for the individual airports. In this case, it will be for Manchester and Bristol airports to engage with NATS to ensure appropriate resourcing. In regard to Edinburgh, NATS is not the provider responsible for the operation of the Air Traffic Control tower at the airport.

Air Traffic Control

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statistics from Eurocontrol that on 28 August over 2,000 flights were cancelled; whether they have assessed why those figures differ from the figure supplied by NATS that 1,500 were cancelled; and what is their explanation for the difference between the NATS figure that 575 flights were delayed and the higher figures supplied by airlines.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: NATS Preliminary Report into the Technical Failure of 28 August, stated that, while at that time it was not clear exactly how many flights had been cancelled the number was likely to exceed 1,500 with around a further 575 being delayed. The independent review, announced by the Civil Aviation Authority on 6 September 2023 will include an assessment of the findings of NATS’ preliminary report. It is important that we now await the outcome of the review, which will include looking at the information on consumer impact including the number of cancellations and delays and the lessons are learned from the events of 28 August.

Shipping: Isles of Scilly

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government what reassurances they have had from the Council of the Isles of Scilly that their plans to establish a special purpose vehicle to manage the proposed £48 million grant from the Levelling Up Fund for the procurement of lifeline shipping services comply with local government procurement rules.

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government, following the announcement that theIsles of Scilly Steamship Group has withdrawn support for the Council of the Isles of Scilly's business case for Levelling Up funding, whether they will ensure that any subsequent application for funding for new vessels or infrastructure is subject to a condition that that Council complies with rules on competitive tendering and local government procurement.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Levelling Up Fund grant to the Council of the Isles of Scilly is dependent upon obtaining an approved compliant full business case for replacement vessels and harbour works. The council has begun a soft market testing exercise to seek other interested parties who may be interested in the project. Any business case or potential future SPV arrangement would need to comply with public procurement rules and would be developed with specialist legal advice.

High Speed 2 Line: Construction

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) stop, or (2) scale back, HS2; and what estimate they have made of the savings to the taxpayer in either case.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Spades are already in the ground on the HS2 programme and we remain focused on its delivery.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Broadband: Voucher Schemes

Lord Empey: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the breakdown by constituency of the number of applications tothe Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme that are still outstanding.

Viscount Camrose: Over 120,000 vouchers have been issued so far under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme and its previous iterations. To date, over 100,000 of these vouchers have been used to connect premises to gigabit-capable broadband. Building Digital UK (BDUK) is working closely with all active suppliers registered on the scheme to identify areas and approve projects in parts of the UK where a voucher-funded project has a good likelihood of delivering gigabit coverage faster than the procurement approach and represents good value for money. There are currently only 97 voucher project applications pending a decision. This data is not currently broken down at a constituency level.

Artificial Intelligence

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help theFrontier AI Taskforce build safe and reliable frontier AI models.

Viscount Camrose: In April this year, The Prime Minister and Technology Secretary announced £100 million in start-up funding for the Foundation Model Taskforce, now known as the UK’s Frontier AI Taskforce. The Taskforce is chaired by Ian Hogarth, a renowned tech investor, entrepreneur and AI specialist who has co-authored the annual State of AI report since 2018. The Taskforce is made up of Civil Servants and a technical research team - comprising some of the brightest minds in AI research. The Taskforce’s core mission is to support the safe and reliable development and deployment of AI foundation models in the public and private sectors to improve UK capabilities in this transformative technology, and to evaluate the risks posed by the rapidly advancing frontier of AI. Leading AI companies Anthropic, DeepMind and OpenAI have committed to providing deep access to their AI models so the Taskforce’s researchers have all the tools they need to do this successfully. The Frontier AI Taskforce is not competing with the labs in building frontier AI models. Ian and the Taskforce team are supported by a heavy-hitting External Advisory Board, from across the national security community, industry and the third sector. The Board will help to guide the Taskforce’s work in conducting safety research ahead of the first global Summit on AI safety, due to be hosted in the UK later this year.

The Senior Deputy Speaker

Peers: Leave of Absence

Lord Faulkner of Worcester: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker on how many occasions, and when, the Leave of Absence Sub-Committee has declined to recommend that leave of absence be granted.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Applications for Leave of Absence are submitted to the Clerk of the Parliaments, who accepts all applications that comply with the requirements set out in Standing Order 21. It has never been the practice to consult the Leave of Absence Sub-Committee on individual applications, and minutes of the Sub-Committee’s meetings show that it has never declined to recommend that leave of absence be granted.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Soil

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support regenerative agriculture.

Lord Benyon: Environmental land management (ELM) is the foundation of our new approach to farming. ELM includes the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). This pays farmers for actions that support food production and can help improve farm productivity and resilience, while protecting and improving the environment. It will support sustainable food production and contribute towards the environmental targets set out in the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan. The SFI 2023 opened for applications on 18 September 2023, and farmers who have a live SFI 2023 agreement before the end of the year will receive an accelerated payment in the first month of their agreement. ELM’s Landscape Recovery (LR) scheme also supports a regenerative approach to agriculture. It focuses on restoring nature across a wider landscape, bringing together landowners and managers who want to take a more large-scale, long-term approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land.  Projects involving elements of regenerative farming can apply. Round two LR pilot applications closed on 21 September 2023, but we have committed to launching a further round in 2024 and expect to continue to launch at least annual rounds in future years as we scale the scheme up. Our Countryside Stewardship scheme includes actions that can form part of a regenerative or restorative farming approach: to improve soil quality, enhance biodiversity, decrease water pollution, and restore, create, and manage habitats. We are expanding the scheme to make around 30 additional actions available to farmers by the end of 2024, as well as targeting our funding towards actions in places where they can have the biggest impacts, in ways that are joined up across larger areas. We are also offering farmers and land managers, including those who take a regenerative approach, funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment through the Farming Investment Fund. This offers funding for equipment, technology, and infrastructure that improves farm productivity and benefits the environment. The Farming Innovation Programme encourages groups of farmers, growers, businesses, and researchers to get involved in collaborative research and development. Farmers testing out regenerative approaches to agriculture will be able to apply for these grants, and we believe that by working together, they will be able to solve challenges and exploit opportunities for increasing productivity and environmental sustainability in the agricultural and horticultural sectors in England.